Because of its economic importance, catalysis is one of the most intensely pursued subjects in applied chemistry and chemical engineering. Catalysts are widely used today to lower the activation energies that would otherwise prohibit important reactions from proceeding. Most industrial reactions are catalytic, and many process improvements thereto result from the discovery of better chemical routes, or as the result of attaining new ways to position catalysts to better interact with important chemical reactants. Ideally it is often best to expose as much of the catalyst as possible to the reactants in the reaction scheme.
Unfortunately, to-date, catalysis has been an inexact science on other than a macroscopic scale. Scientists are only beginning to understand the microscopic interplay between the catalyst and the surface or substrate upon which it is positioned. It is believed that these surface interactions may have a significant impact on ultimate catalyst stereochemistry and performance.
However, because of current process technological limitations it has been difficult to provide reaction vehicles which would facilitate microscopic catalyst formation. What is therefore needed in the art is a new method of forming a catalyst body that takes maximum advantage of the chemical and physical properties of both the catalyst and the substrate upon which it is formed at a nanometer-scale level.